(Image Source: Engadget)

It is not every week that you get two blockbuster announcements within a matter of 48 hours. Palm Pre which was introduced earlier this year took its sweet time to come to the market and was officially launched this weekend. Launching it two days before WWDC was always going to be a risk, and launching it many months after the introduction is never a smart idea, it gives competitors enough time to respond.

While, Pre is a solid device and has great features, strategically, it missed out. By keeping the inventory artificially low, the company made matters worse. Now, it has to also compete with a $99 iPhone and 3.0 and of course the HSDPA iPhone for the same price of $199. Apple is known to have products in the store within days of announcement and competitors should learn from that otherwise they will get creamed time and time again. Pre will push iPhone and others to be better devices but will it be worthy of being an effective competitor remains to be seen. All the indications are that it will sell well but will fall short of sales expectations.